Typical shopgirl

I went to get some moisturizing cream for my face the other day, and upon entering the Vita Apotek (normal drugstore) I was offered help by this little blond girl in her early 20s. I explained I had some dry skin on my face and wanted some cream. She pointed out the tiniest and most expensive tube of cream in the place, and started talking about various ingredients in the cream. I gave her a look that probably part confusion and part "you've got to be kidding me!". She then says with a complete lack of the enthusiasm "Um yeah, the Nivea is over here."

I appreciate the spunk of the girl for trying to sell crazy expensive cream to me, but I'm a pretty average 35 year old guy who isn't interested in what the hell is in the cream. I want something simple. So I also appreciate that she read my body language and pointed me to exactly what I wanted.

Bus follow up

I sent an email back to the bus company and to OsloSporveier, thanking them for the great service and let them know I was blogging about them, and gave them the web address. I hope they check my site out. That would be cool.

Further message from the Bus Company

Hei


Takk for mail med varsel om at det kommer fuktighet inn i bussen.

Videre vises det til dagens telefonsamtale hvor vi fikk rettet opp navnet på holdeplassen.


Vi har brukt dine opplysninger til å finne frem til den rette bussen.

Vårt verksted er kontaktet og bussen blir kontroller/reparert.


Vennlig hilsen

William Theisen

Tekniik leder

Norgesbuss Oslo


Here's another notice from the bus company.
I wrote earlier today to note that they had called to clear up some bad information I had given them regarding which bus needed work, and the note above says they have figured out which bus it is, based on where and when I boarded the bus, and will have the window fixed. They took my information and were able to figure out which bus it was. I figured they should be able to do so, and am glad it worked out.

I am very very impressed with the way they have handled this. Basically, 4 business days to respond, good communication, and a promise to fix the problem. That's pretty goddamn good!

Stor ros til OsloSporveier! (that means "great job to OsloSporveier")

The bus company followed up!

I am pleasantly surprised to report that I just received a phone call from the bus company. Apparently I included some incorrect information regarding the bus stop I boarded at (to help them figure out which bus it was, the stop is Smedberg, not Smestad) and wanted some clarification.

Now, they may not be able to figure out which bus it was that I was on, but they are trying, and I appreciate that they took the time to try to figure it out instead of just passing it off.

Big ups to Oslo Sporveier!! Keep up the good work!

I got a response from the bus people

Vennligst behold emne (subject) ved svar på denne mail

Hei, takk for tilbakemelding.
Din henvendelse er videreformidlet til busselskapet.


Med vennlig hilsen
Kristin M Aarre
Sporveiens kundesenter

Above is the response I got from Oslo Sporveier. Basically, it says they received my message and have passed it on to the people in charge of the buses. So I hope that means it will be repaired. The response only took about 4 work days. Not shabby.

Why am I waiting in the rain?

I went to the show at Blå the other night. The band was excellent, they put on a great show, and were around to meet and greet afterwards. What I was wondering is why they make people stand outside before the show. They let us in a 5 after 9, and the music started soon after. People had been queued up since before 8. It seems to me that it would be better to let everyone in an hour early. From my viewpoint, they could have sold another 150 half-liters of beer if they would have opened up when people started arriving. Their loss.

Other than that, the venue has crappy bathrooms and poor sightlines, and yet, I'd still go back, because I liked the atmosphere. Now I know what to expect, and can adjust accordingly.

Check out Cansei de ser sexy for some cool music. I would definitely see them again. Even at Blå.

I wrote to Oslo Sporveier

Hei,
I dag tidlig reiste jeg med buss nummer 70 Vika, og jeg ble våt pga vann som kom gjennom ruten og glasset. Jeg satt på høyre side, i andre rad bak midt døren. Jeg gikk på bussen på Smestad kl. 0803. Jeg fikk ikke med meg bussnummeret. Jeg ville bare la dere vite hva som skjedde. Hvis jeg skulle ha skrevet til noen andre, vss å si fra.
Takk,
Nick Sorensen

That is the text in norwegian of the letter I wrote to Oslo Sporveier (the dudes in charge of the public transportation around here). Essentially, I let them know that I got wet on the bus due to a leaky window, and which bus I was riding. I also tell them I just wanted them to know so they could fix it.

I probably should have requested a response directly. Maybe I won't hear from them at all since I told them I just wanted them to know about the problem.

Who knows if I'll hear from them at all?

How does your ass get wet INSIDE the bus?

On the way to class this morning, I say down in a seat on the bus, a quite new bus, mind you, and I got soaked. There was a leaky window letting in water which sprayed over me and had already soaked the seat, so I got to school with a wet spot on my ass. Attractive. I guess I should be telling Oslo Sporveier, and not you. Let's see what they have to say.

Also got my tickets today, picked them up at the post office. Is that the convenience I paid 6 dollars per ticket for? Was it even convenient to pick up the tix there? Not really.

Yo! Open the door!

Why is it that the bus drivers never want to open the back door? I'll be standing by the back door on a crowded bus, unable to get to the middle door, and I have to yell at them open up. How fucking hard is it to flip an extra switch?

Tickets ordered

I ordered the tickets, from Satan himself, Ticketmaster. It turns out that it was not possible to buy the tickets at the club. You can only buy them at Ticketbastard. That means you have to pay the extra 6 bucks per ticket. Not a good policy, if you ask me. It also seems arbitrary, because it is possible to buy tickets to some shows at , but not others. Also, their website kinda sucks. The first thing I want to know is where they are located. And you have to search the webpage to find the address. I found it eventually. I plugged it into the map on Oslo Gule Sider (which is excellent!) and found the location. They're not really in Grunerlokka, they're across the river. Back to the maps, how come Gule sider rules and google maps for norway is so pathetic? Google maps is excellent everywhere else, so I'm just guessing they are building the street database. Shouldn't they just buy the database from someone (Gule sider?) and overlay it on their map?
In other news, the bus was on time today. It's raining outside and the bus driver stopped right in front of the puddle. 3 feet in front or 3 feet behind and my shoes stay dry.

Cansei De Ser Sexy tix

So I heard about this band form Brazil that I want to check out, called Cansei de ser sexy. They are playing at Blå, a little jazz club here in Oslo, that also has a fair amount of indie rock bands. So I'm looking for tickets, and they refer me to fucking Ticketmaster. I hate them. They have penetrated the market here and are charging a freaking arm and a leg for ticket services, in this case 30 kroner per ticket above the 130 kroner ticket price. Now, I don't mind paying 20+ dollars to see a band that has traveled all the way from Brazil to go on tour here, but I do mind paying a 23% service fee to get a ticket printed. This does not include the 35 kroner they want for mailing the tickets. What a load of crap. I'm going to swing the place and buy tickets in person a bit later this evening. When I come back, I'll discuss the ticket price difference for members and non-members. Loyalty program or screwing the customer?

Initial Post

I'm supposed to keep a journal for Customer Relationship Marketing class, so I figured why not let everybody in. The journal is meant to cover all my interactions with businesses, and discuss my experience from a service perspective. Given that I'm attending school in Norway, I don't expect a whole hell of a lot in the way of service. It's been mediocre so far, at least as far as I remember. Maybe my experience is still colored by the the level of service I've received in this country in the past. Historically, it's been pretty abysmal. Let's hope it only improves from here.